Media item

Vacantiedag voor onze schooljeugd, Een

You are free to download and redistribute this work for non-commercial purposes as long as the author or licensor is credited. You are also free to translate, make remixes, and produce new works based on this work as long as the author or licensor of the original work is credited, the new creations are licensed under identical terms and they are non-commercial in nature.

Reportage about a holiday for children in The Hague. The Hague’s ‘holiday children’s party’ gave children from the city the opportunity to spend a day in nature, full of fresh air, fun, and a nutritious meal. Amersfoort, or rather the moors at Birkhoven and Soesterberg, was a popular destination. Because Amersfoort had a large garrison, soldiers were often used to help facilitate these events. This reportage shows about a thousand children who gather at The Hague’s Prinsengracht at six in the morning. The band is already there; two boys are heartily banging on their drums. Parents and other family members accompany the children to the train. Hanging out of the window, the children wave handkerchiefs to those who stay behind. At their destination, the Amersfoort Cavalry Corps await them with music. The children get a glass of milk, and army cooks prepare huge amounts of potatoes, beans, and 'gravy'. The film concludes with a lively parade, with a band leading the way. One of the intertitles mentions that ‘the children's friend Mr. Henry ter Hall’ had also taken part in the day’s events. This revue artist is not recognizable in the film, but he may be one of the men we see with glasses, moustache, and a hat in the front of the parade. Ter Hall, who at the time had political ambitions, often dedicated his efforts to The Hague’s holiday children's party. He did not have any children from either of his two marriages.